Stoner not focused on title fight

The Ducati rider has scored just 11 points in the first three races of the year, having retired in Qatar in Spain after falling down.

He is down in 14th place in the standings, 59 points behind Jorge Lorenzo.

Stoner admits this weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Mugello is far from the ideal venue to start winning again, but the Australian is determined to get a good result to get his season back on track.

"Obviously Mugello hasn't come at a positive moment for us but this is our situation and we have to try and look forward, taking things race by race and not worrying too much about the championship," said Stoner.

"That is what I am most interested in right now and we want to get the bottom of this problem we're having with the front end. We have a few things to try at Mugello and we will be working as hard as always to achieve our goals.

"Generally the bike is working well and we have the pace to fight with the guys at the front so it is just a case of continuing to work hard to solve this issue."

Team-mate Nicky Hayden, on the other hand, is confident that he will be able to keep his momentum going after a good start to the year.

"I can't wait to go to Mugello and banish the memory of last year, when I was quite slow in front of the Italian fans and so many people from Ducati," he said. "Actually things went better in the race than they had done in practice but then I suffered a problem with my rear brake and the result was anything but good.

"We're going into a run of races that could be quite decent for us and we're confident. Mugello is a circuit that can be really nice to ride or really tough, depending on whether you can get your bike working well and have a good set-up.

"If you manage that you can have some serious fun. I'm expecting to see a lot of Ducati fans so hopefully I can have fun and they can too."